Google wants as many people to use the web as possible, because at this point it can reliably count on more or less every internet user earning the company revenue. Having a decent connection is a big part of that, and while there are plenty of adequate speed tests available, apparently Google wants one right in the search interface. To that end, they're testing an integrated speed test created with the help of Measurement Lab.

You might not see the test right away - in fact, it seems to be live for only a tiny minority of Google search users at the moment. One of them was Twitter user Pete Meyers, who posted a quick screenshot of the tool running in his browser. It's nothing particularly interesting (nothing like the overly elaborate UI for SpeedTest.net, for example) but presumably it will get the job done.

Looks like Google is testing their own internet speed test (query = "check internet speed") - not seeing it live -- pic.twitter.com/wjsPIlEbFv

Google notes on the tool itself and in new help documentation that the test will use under 40 megabytes of data for up, down, and latency info. That's a bit heavy, so you might want to avoid it if you're on a mobile data connection. As with all experimental features there's no guarantee that it will be rolled out to the wider userbase, but it seems fairly likely considering Google's comprehensive approach to integrated search tools.

Comments

Google Fiber has a Speed test on their site...I love that they didn't show the only reason that may prevent me from getting gigabit speeds...is having google fiber in my area

drcaveman

I love that is uses adobe flash, tried it on my phone, no joy.

Corey Watford

There's always the HTML5 version of Speedtest.com

drcaveman

I know, actually paid for the app

Corey Watford

Same here, but I don't mind supporting the developers

DvST8

You can use Fast.com on your phone.

Selei Laurenţiu

only 80 Mbps on Google Fiber? then what's so special about it?

Corey Watford

smh, read before leaving comments

james fuston

You should've said "not having" Google Fiber in your area or "Google Fiber availability." "Having Google Fiber in [my] area" isn't a reason that would prevent you from having gigabit speeds. Check your grammar before you correct someone else who's confused by your statements.

John Doe

That seed test is powered by Ookla which is speedtest.net and is different than the one they are testing in the search results.

hmm that one in the link seems to use a randoms server somewhere in the US regardless of your actual location (unlike speedtest.net which serves as a more realistic measurement of your maximum throughput by choosing a nearby server).

John Doe

How is choosing a nearby server more realistic? Not all websites/apps/games/etc. you use will have their servers near you.